Brothel

A brothel is a place where people may come to engage in sexual activity with a prostitute, sometimes referred to as a sex worker. Technically, any premises where prostitution commonly takes place qualifies as a brothel. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments sometimes describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, houses of ill repute, body rub parlours, studios or by some other description. Sex work in a brothel is considered safer than street prostitution.

Etymology

From the French bordel, ca. 1200 "bordel" sing. "prostitution place". The French word bordel comes from the Old German word Bord, which means "board". This word was used to describe the shacks made of boards in which prostitution occurred. The word bord was firstly transformed by the French to borde, then quickly became bordel.

Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, house of ill fame, house of prostitution, house of ill repute, strippy, knocking shop, pleasure house, strumpet house, sporting house, or whorehouse. Under English criminal law, a brothel is commonly referred to as a "disorderly house".

Brothel (film)

Brothel is a 2008 film written and directed by Amy Waddell. The film stars Serena Scott Thomas, Brett Cullen, Timothy V. Murphy, and Bruce Payne. The film was filmed in Jerome and Clarkdale, Arizona.

Plot

A young couple buy an old house in Jerome which used to be a brothel. The husband commits suicide and the wife, Julianne (played by Serena Scott Thomas), attempts to come to terms with her loss and modernise the house. She 'finds the building is still inhabited by the ghosts of prostitutes' and 'that she is being stalked by Death himself (Bruce Payne)'.

Cast

Reception

John Reid, who reviewed the film for the Sedona Red Rock News, noted "the density of atmosphere and the intensity of the actors and crew palpable on the set". David Kanowsky, who reviewed the film for Kudos, stated that it was "a very fine ghost story without horror". A contributor to the Independent Film Quarterly described the film as "an erotic indie version of Inception".